The American style "prom" is now a regular feature in the British schools calendar and it is a chance for the children to dress up and impress as they reach the end of their school days.
Last Friday evening, club member Rachel Verge was invited to photograph the Priory School (Dorking) Year 11 Prom at the stunning Wotton House hotel. I was lucky enough to tag along as her assistant.
Last Friday evening, club member Rachel Verge was invited to photograph the Priory School (Dorking) Year 11 Prom at the stunning Wotton House hotel. I was lucky enough to tag along as her assistant.
We both had a hugely educational experience - now we have seen first hand the tough job that event photographers face. Not only is there a challenge in capturing the moment as the guests arrive but you're vying with their parents and friends - everyone has a phone nowadays and wants to snap the same picture. There's also the battle behind the scenes with the hotel staff who simply want to get on with their jobs and don't want their schedule to be disrupted and don't want a photographer's pop-up studio in the way.
Trying to herd a hundred hyperactive children into posing for group shots was almost impossible and sadly we didn't manage to capture the one picture we set out to take - the Year 11 group shot - as they took so long to arrive, their dinner was getting cold.
For anyone who's not experienced a prom before, the manner of the arrival of the guests is the most spectacular part of the evening. The children vie with each other to see who can arrange the most outlandish or lavish means of transportation. There were vintage American muscle cars, stretch limos, an old fire engine, a tank, various modern supercars and, at the opposite extreme, three lads arrived in a cardboard car they'd made themselves and one one chap turned up on his gran's mobility scooter, decorated with balloons and bunting.
A fun (but tiring) evening overall and the results can be seen on the school's web site.
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